US2865499A - Sectional shipping container and internal pods therefor - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 23, 1958 A. v. BROGREN SECTIONAL SHIPPING CONTAINER AND INTERNAL PODS THEREFOR Filed Jan.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR AXEL. V. BROGREN ATTORNEY Dec 23, 1958 A. v. BROGREN SECTIONAL SHIPPING CONTAINER AND INTERNAL PODS THEREFOR Filed Jan.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. AXEL V. BROGREN ATTORNEY States SEC'HUNAL SHIPPING CONTAINER AND INTERNAL PODS THEREFOR Axel V. lirogren, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Parsons Corporation, Detroit, Mich a corporation of Michigan This invention relates to the protective packaging of objects, such as helicopter rotor blades, for handling, shipment and storage.

Since failure of helicopter rotor blades in flight is ordinarily catastrophic, it is of extraordinary importance that helicopter rotor blades be protected during handling, shipment and storage from every type of shock and unintended physical contact. Further, the need for replacement rotor blades is often such that they must be deiivered under conditions of rough handling. The practice heretofore existing, all utilizing ordinary wood packing boxes, and supporting rotor blades therein by localized clamp supports at several points along their span, has not given the rotor blades sufficient protection to assure their safe delivery.

The purposes of the present invention include the following:

To provide a rugged reusable standardized metal shipping container suited for the protective shipment of rotor blades of various types, together with individual reusable blade enclosures fabricated to fit the specific contours of each type of blade and to furnish distributed support for each blade within the shipping container.

To provide a sectional outer shipping container consisting of a bottom section, a top section and any selected number of spacer sections, adapted to support a rotor blade or other elongated object at each joint of the sectional container.

To provide a sectional shipping container formed of sheet metal having outstanding flanges stabilized in simple fashion against deformation or warping under contemplated applied loads, and having provision for nested stacking and lifting by forklift trucks.

To provide for such sectional container, blade support pods adapted to support the weight of the rotor blades in distributed fashion and to support the blades individually protected from contact with the walls of the shipping container and from each other. 4

To provide as a separate article of manufacture, reusable protective pods for rotor blades and other elongated objects within which they may be enclosed and protected during handling and storage and which afford cushion support during shipment.

To construct such protective pods in segments of a size readily formed and adapted for easy assembly, and to provide means for the ready alignment thereof and securement within a sectional shipping container.

Additional purposes and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description which fol lows.

In the accompanying drawings (2 sheets):

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a rotor blade shipping container assembly embodying the present invention, broken away to show a rotor blade in the upper support pod thereof.

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the shipping con- :tainer shown in Figure 1.

2853,499 Patented Dec. 23, 1958 Figure 7 is a partial plan view of a modified pod construction.

Figure 8 is an enlarged root end elevation of the moditied form of pod shown in Figure 7, the cavity therein being indicated in dashed lines.

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Figure 7.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary section taken along line ill-ill of Figure 2.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary section taken along line 11-11 of Figure 4.

Figure 12 is an exploded perspective view of a quick fastener of the type shown in both Figure 10 and Figure l1.

Referring now to the drawings by part numbers, I utilize a sectional metal shipping container generally designated 11, having a container top section 12, a container bottom section 13 provided with a welded support structure 14, and one or more intermediate spacer sections 15, secured together by fasteners hereinafter described. The general organization of the sectional shipping container 11 is shown in perspective, elevation and section in Figures 1, 2 and 3, respectively.

The container top section 12 is formed of sheet metal to the shape of an inverted shallow trough, having a substantially flat top Wall 16, and having top section side walls 17 formed downwardly therefrom, terminating in an outstanding top section flange or rim 18 in the plane of its lower edge. It is preferably assembled by spot welding, using familiar techniques and reinforcements such as the top section corner reinforcements 19. The depth of the top section 12 is somewhat greater than half the maximum thickness of a rotor blade to be shipped in the container, as is illustrated in Figure 3. Further reference will be made hereinafter to the clearance provided around the rotor blades.

The container bottom section 13 is formed to a size and in a manner similar to the container top section 12, and includes a substantially fiat bottom wall 20, from which the bottom section side walls 21 rise substantially vertically to an outstanding bottom section flange or rim 22 in the plane of its upper edge.

Arranged at intervals laterally across thebottom wall 29 and extending slightly to both sides thereof are lateral support tubes 23, whose outstanding ends 24- rest upon a pair of longitudinal skid tubes 25 and are secured thereto by the welded support structure brackets 26. The longitudinal skid tubes 25 are spaced from each other a distance slightly greater than the Width of the top section 12, exclusive of its flanges, and the diameter of the skid tubes 25 is somewhat less than the height of the top section side walls 17. This construction per mits the secure stacking of one sectional container 11 upon another similar container, the lateral support tubes 25 of the upper container resting on the substantially fiat top wall 16 of the container beneath it, and the longitudinal skid tubes 25 of the upper container straddling the top section side walls 17. The spaces between the lateral support tubes 23, the bottom wall 20, and the longitudinal skid tubes 25 permit access for lifting by fork lift trucks. Either a single shipping container or a nested stack of containers can be readily lifted and transported.

The longitudinal skid tubes have upwardly swaged protruding ends 27 of such length as to extend protectively beyondthe outstanding flanges 18 and 22 of the top and bottom sections 12 and 13, respectively, as well as of the spacer section or sections 15, hereinafter described.

Each spacer section 15 has an upper spacer flange 2S and a lower spacer flange 29 in the planes of the outer and lower margins, respectively, of the spacer section wall designated 30. This wall encloses a space of substantially the same area as the area of the top section 12 or bottom section 13 at their flanges 18. The spacer flanges 28, 29 and the top and bottom flanges 18, 22 are substantially co-extensive, as shown.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, it is to be noted that the container top section flange 18 and the container bottom section flange 22 are unsupported prior to the assembly of the shipping container 11. In contrast, the upper and lower spacer section flanges 28, 29 have at their corners the welded vertical corner brackets 31, and at intervals along the longer edges of the spacer section flanges 28,

29, these flanges are supported by a plurality of vertical angle brackets 32 welded thereto. The purpose of the corner brackets 31 and angle brackets 32 is not to stabilize merely the flanges 28, 29 of the spacer section 15, but, by means of the flange fasteners hereinafter described, to stabilize as well the top section flange 18 of the bottom section flange 22. External forces which might cause flange deflection or warping include forces arising from striking the container forcibly and buckling forces from the application of heavy loads to the container top section 12. In case of application of any such external force, the integration of the several outstanding flanges mto a structural unity, by use of suitable fasteners, will aid in avoiding buckling or warping.

Convenient means for effecting such structural integration, and at the same time providing for the easy assembly and disassembly of the structure, are shown in Figure 2. Mounted on the under sides of the bottom section flange 22, and. of the upper spacer flange 28 of each spacer section 15, are a. plurality of quick fasteners 33 which may conveniently be of the cam-lock type as shown in Figures 10 and 12, each having a twist-locking pin 34 projecting vertically upward, from a levered cam portion. These quick fasteners 33 on the successive flanges are arranged in vertical alignment with each other.

The top section flange 18, and the lower spacer flange 29 I of each spacer section 15, have elongated pin-accommodating apertures 35, likewise arranged in vertical alignment with each other and in registration with the quick fasteners 33. The vertical twist-locking pins 34 having cross-pins at their tops and the elongated pin-accommodating apertures 35 fitted with spring receptacle plates 35, which accommodate such cross pins, make possible the quick assembly and disassembly of the shipping container by vertical addition or subtraction of the several container portions.

Reference will now be made to the manner of supporting objects such as rotor blades within the shipping container 11. Attention is directed to the cut-away portion of Figure l and the sectional presentation of Figure 3. From Figure 1 may be seen the manner of supporting a rotor blade, designated a, between the container top section 12 and the spacer section 15 therebeneath; this position corresponds with the upper position shown in Figure 3, where the section is taken near the root end of blade a. Figure 3 also shows a section through approximately the tip end of a second rotor blade b mounted beneath the blade a. It is seen that the blades are supported in separate blade pods, such as the pod designated 36, shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6, and hereafter described.

Each blade pod 36 comprises an upper pod half 37 and a lower pod half 38, each half formed of a moldable material such as resin-impregnated laminated fiber glass sheet or one of the family of post-forming plastics. Such materials are conveniently molded in a hot press. The upper and lower pod halves 37, 38 are generally oblong in shape and have planar edges 39 which meet in a plane corresponding substantially to the chord plane of the rotor blade to be accommodated therein, or to the midplane of any other object to be shipped therein. intermediate the outer edges 39 of the upper pod half 37 is an upwardly-formed upper cavity half 40 whose shape is such as to accommodate and conform to the contour of the rotor blade on one side of its chord plane. This upper cavity half 40 complements a lower cavity half 41, which is formed downwardly in the lower pod half 38 to accommodate the contour of the rotor blade on the other side of its chord plane. When the upper pod half 37 and the lower pod half 38 are assembled in registration with each other, the upper and lower cavity halves 40, 41 provide a contour-conforming sheath which supports the rotor blade evenly and with its weight distributed, protected against shock loads and chance contact as hereinafter more fully set forth.

On assembly of the upper and lower pod halves 37, 38, their planar outer edges 39 are presented in contact with each other. Likewise presented in contact are the cavity-bounding portions 42 which lie between the cavity halves 40, 41 and the outer edges 39. Due to the twist of the blade (as shown by comparison of the tip end elevation, Figure 6 with the root end elevation, Figure 5) there is a warping of the blade chord plane, which is particularly noticeable in the region of the blade tip. The cavity-bounding portions 42 near the tip end are molded away from the plane of the outer edges 39, the mold line being designated 43 in Figure 4.

Prior to assembly of the pod 36 with'the sectional shipping container 11, the pod halves 37, 38 are preferably secured together by fasteners in the cavity-bounding portion 42, such as the pod mechanical fasteners 44 shown adjacent the longer cavity margins 45 and illustrated in Figures 4, 5, 6 and 11. These fasteners 44 include a pin fastener at each end, and serve to assemble the pod halves 37, 38 into an envelope in which a rotor blade may be protectively stored before and after shipment. Another function of the pod fasteners 44 is to hold the cavity halves 37, 38 in precise alignment, and to minimize their deflection. Like the quick fasteners 33 they may be of the commercially available type illustrated in Figure 12.

Where the molding of the cavity halves 37, 38 results in a fairly sharp bend, this bend adds additional rigidity. If the molding does not require a sharp angular bend, such additional rigidity may be obtained by the use of strengthening beads, such as the trailing edge beads 46 shown in Figure 6.

The outer edges 39 of the upper and lower pod halves 37, 38 have pod edge apertures 47 corresponding in shape with and arranged in registration with the elongated pinaccornmodating apertures 35. Thus a rotor blade b may be secured by the pod quick fasteners 44 within a pod 36; and the pod 36 then assembled over the container bottom section 13 by lowering it vertically so that its edge apertures 47 are penetrated by the twist pins 34 of the fasteners 33 of the bottom section 13. A spacer section 15 may be then assembled thereon and the quick fasteners 33 tightly secured. Another rotor blade a may be similarly mounted in a second pod 36 and secured in the same fashion above the upper spacer flange 28. If it is desired to ship rotor blades in groups of more than two (as for example, in sets of three or four) additional spacer sections and pods may be added. The manner of securement of the container top 12 is apparent.

The blade pods 36, when so mounted within the shipping container 11, serve as enveloping diaphragms. Not

only do they support the weight of the blades distributed over the lower surface area, but theyresist shock loads in the manner of a diaphragm and maintain the blades separated and protected from chance contact with the walls of the shipping container 11 and with each other. This is accomplished with an economy of space. It is apparent that the vertical movement of blades so supported will be slight, depending in part on the material characteristics of the sheet metal used to form the pods 36 and the tolerance in the outer pod edge apertures 47.

One outstanding advantage of the present invention, however, is that the sectional shipping container 11 may be made to a standardized size large enough to permit its use with a number of different rotor blade configurations. Utilizing such a standardized shipping container, the pods 36 may be individually molded to the precise contour of each blade configuration. With a standardized shipping container and a supply of such pods molded for each specific blade configuration, the problem of supply of shipping containers is minimized and the advantage of reusability is multiplied.

Many varied forms of pods and alterations in shipping container structure will occur to those familiar with the problems of shipment of such articles. For example, provisions may be made for ventilation and drainage, and for hermetic sealing.

The pods required for extremely long rotor blades may be difficult to form in halves. Accordingly, attention is directed to the alternate form of pod construction shown in Figures 7 and 8. Such alternate form of pod is referred to as a segmental pod enclosure 48, and comprises a plurality of longitudinally-aligned upper pod segments 49, shown in Figure 7, and a plurality of corresponding lower pod segments 50. These may be of any length convenient for forming and handling. Each of the pod segments has laterally opposite outer edge segment portions 51 adapted to be assembled together to meet substantially in a plane, as shown in Figure 8. Intermediate the laterally-opposite edge portions 51 are segmental cavity portions 52 which, on assembly as shown in Figure 8, provide a single cavity conforming to the outer contour of the rotor blade to be accommodated therein.

Adjacent each lateral edge save the root and tip end edges, each segment 49, 50 is provided with a lateral alignment bead 53 of such size as to nest with the corresponding alignment bead of the adjacent segment, as shown in Figures 7 and 9. The ends of the alignment beads 53 extend laterally beyond the segmental cavity portions 52 into the pod segment cavity-bounding portions 54, as shown in Figures 7 and 9. At these portions the upper and lower pod segments 49, 59 are secured with the successive longitudinal segments nesting overlappingly in alignment, and are held by simple fasteners such as bolted connections 55. The segmental pod enclosure is adapted for mounting within the shipping container 11 by pod edge apertures 47' penetrating its outer edge segment portions 51.

Either variant of pod structure, and other possible forms of pod, may be combined with the sectional shipping container 11 to compose a protective assembly utilizable for a broad variety of products requiring protection during shipment. The shipping assembly here disclosed has been utilized with helicopter masts of generally circular section, and may be readily adapted for a variety of other uses. Several objects may be secured between the halves of a single pod, provided the pod is suitably molded. Thus, the slightly greater cost of a metal shipping container over an ordinary wood shipping box is paid for many times over by reason of its reusability and its easy adaptation of the shipment of articles of varying configuration. Accordingly, the present invention should not be limited to the specific structures here illustrated, but should be deemed as fully coextensive with the in- Yentive principles disclosed,

I claim: ,7

1. A segmental pod enclosure for a rotor blade, comprising a plurality of longitudinally-aligned upper pod segments, each segment having laterally-opposite outer edge portions lying substantially in a plane and having a cavity portion therebetween formed upwardly, the adjacent sides of said upper segments being beaded and overlapping so that their cavity portions together define a cavity which substantially conforms to the contour of a rotor blade, further comprising a plurality of longitudinally-aligned lower pod segments, each segment having laterally-opposite outer edge portions lying substantially in a plane and having a cavity portion therebetween formed downwardly, the adjacent sides-of said lower segments being headed and overlapping so that their cavity portions together define a cavity which substantially conforms to the contour of a rotor blade, and a plurality of mechanical fasteners in the overlapping portions of said pod segments and positioned outwardly adjacent the cavity portions and inward of the outer edge portions for securing the adjacent upper and lower pod segments together to form a protective pod.

2. A sectional shipping assembly for protectively packaging a plurality of airfoils arranged longitudinally with their chord planes substantially horizontal at difierent levels, comprising an elongated metal shipping container having a container bottom section including a bottom wall and said walls extending thereabove, the side walls having an upper edge rim flange extending outwardly; skid means depending from said bottom section arranged longitudinally parallel and spaced below the bottom wall; a container top section including a top wall and side walls extending downward therefrom and having an outwardly flanged lower edge rim; and an intermediate spacer section having an outwardly flanged upper edge rim and an outwardly flanged lower edge rim, coextensive respectively with the lower edge rim of the container top section-and the upper edge rim of the container bottom section; a first blade support diaphragm having a blade support cavity and diaphragm edges substantially coextensive with the upper edge rim of the spacer section, a second blade support diaphragm having a blade support cavity and diaphragm edges substantially coextensive with the upper edge rim of the bottom section, and releasable securement means at said edges, whereby the top section lower edge rim is secured to the edges of the first diaphragm and the spacer section upper edge and whereby the spacer section lower edge is secured to the edges of the second diaphragm and the upper edge of the box bottom section.

3. Protective rotor blade shipment means comprising in combination an elongated sectional shipping container having a container bottom section, a container top section and a frame-like spacer section, each of said bottom, top and spacer sections having outstanding edges in vertical registration with each other, and releasable mechanical fastener means at said edges whereby said sections are releasably assembled together vertically in registration; together with a first protective pod including a blade support diaphragm having a support cavity and outer edges extending spacedly outward of said cavity between and substantially coextensive with the upper edges of the spacer section and a second protective pod having a support cavity and having outer edges between and substantially coextensive with the upper edges of the bottom section, each of said blade support diaphragms having a horizontal planar portion intermediate its cavity and its outer edges, each pod further having an upper pod member including a contoured portion in registration with the cavity of the diaphragm of said pod and a horizontal planar portion thereabout, and fastener means securing the planar portion of each upper pod member to the planar portion of its blade diaphragm.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Leahy June 16, 1908 Flemming Jan. 17, 1911 Caylor Aug. 3, 1926 Schweinkzin May 2, 1933 Kuepp'ers Oct. 27, 1942 Larsen Mar. 21, 1950 8 Nicolle Dec. 11, 1951 Higbee Oct. 14, 1952 Blackinton Apr. 6, 1954 Cohen June 15, 1954 Gould et a1 May 17, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain May 22, 1919 France Apr. 4, 1951

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